The anticipation surrounding Paul Skenes ‘ arrival as a Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher in May and his subsequent first few starts evoked Stephen Strasburg, a former No. One draft pick and pitching prodigy, who exploded onto the football field for the Washington Nationals on June 8, 2010, while also sporting an extremely electronic ball.
A No. 1 was the right-handed Strasburg. 1 draft decision out of San Diego State, and his appearance in the bigs came with a large- time reputation that blossomed into an injury- sensitive, 13- year, World Series- winning career.
Skenes, even picked No. 1 in 2023 out of LSU, has thrilled Major League Baseball supporters by striking out 21 pitchers in his first 16 pitches, throwing 25 innings at 100 miles or higher over the course of his initial three starts.

Livvy Dunne, far right, watches partner Paul Skenes ball against Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

And Skenes is a hub for activity beyond the industry. He is dating common Louisiana dancer Livvy Dunne, a social media star, and they are the newest sports-based power partners.
” I’d compare it to Taylor Swift- Travis Kelce. Make sure that Livvy Dunne is at all his games”, said Bob Dorfman, an independent marketing expert based in San Francisco. He added that MLB needs to combine this duo for maximum exposure. ” And feature her prominently. Many purists will be offended by it, but it might encourage more fans and attention to those games.
It’s difficult to truly compare Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, and Swift, one of the most well-known pop stars in the world. But there are similarities.
Swift remained close to Kelce throughout the campaign and the following year, even taking a flight from a show on her record-breaking Eras Tour to Las Vegas just in time for the Super Bowl. On May 11 in Pittsburgh, Dunne and his family ascended from the minors and pitched an erratic four innings for the Cubs, giving up three runs on six hits, two walks, and seven Ks.
When the cameras on the telecast caught up with Dunne after Skenes left after throwing 84 pitches, she described the experience as the thrill of a lifetime. ” There’s nothing that can top this, I’m so proud”, Dunne said on the broadcast.
Swift’s and Kelce’s marketing power is well- known, the NFL promoted their relationship every chance it could. Dunne and Skenes, both 21—with Skenes turning 22 on May 29—have yet to realize their potential.
Dunne’s a superstar social media influencer with 13.2 million followers across multiple platforms including TikTok ( 7.6 million ), Instagram ( 4.2 million ) and X/Twitter ( 103, 000 ). Skenes has 419, 000 followers on Instagram and 20, 000 on X/Twitter.
Dunne is a senior this year and, like Skenes, she will leave college a rich athlete. She is worth$ 3.5 million, according to the On3 NIL 100 list, and she endorses brands such as activewear brand Vuori, Accelerator Active Energy drink and fashion brands Forever 21 and American Eagle.

Skenes signed a one- year,$ 9.76 million contract with the Pirates that included a major- league record$ 9.2 million bonus and a base contract at the rookie minimum of$ 740, 000 that had a cash value of$ 560, 898 because he spent the season’s first two months in the minor leagues, according to Spotrac.
Both Skenes and Dunne won the NCAA championship at LSU, and Dunne was a member of the team that just won the first NCAA gymnastics title for LSU. Dunne did not compete in the team’s NCAA championship match this past season because she did off and on.
According to Dorfman, the two should be positioned as a “marketing couple,” making them worth “between$ 5 million to$ 10 million in advertising deals annually.”
” Every deal should be a package deal”, he said. ” I would make sure she’s always in with him. He’s a great young athlete, but she’s very charismatic”.
By focusing on Skenes ‘ initial successes with a social media campaign and free streaming access, MLB capitalizes on his rise to fame. TV to Pirates games when he pitches. His first two starts were free of the day, but his third start on Thursday was n’t. MLB makes decisions about free games on a bi-weekly basis and concentrates on the first game of hot new prospects.
An MLB spokesman said,” We pivoted our selections in May to include Skenes ‘ first two starts.”
Nationally, MLB reported that Skenes ‘ No. 30 was the fifth- most popular selling jersey online at MLBShop.com last week, without divulging the precise sales figure. And his debut was the fifth-most watched game in MLB’s 23-year history. TV. His next start is against the Tigers in Detroit on Wednesday.
As far as social media is concerned, MLB planned an archival footage release as soon as Skenes made his first Major League start, which had 750, 000 views on TikTok. In addition, his debut highlights received three million views.
” We are treating his starts as appointment viewing”, the MLB spokesman said. ” And the enthusiasm in our feeds indicates that our fans are in agreement,” we read.
The Pirates need Skenes ‘ presence on the field without a doubt. On Thursday, against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park, Skenes threw six innings of one- run, six- hit ball with one walk and a modest three strikeouts. He left with the Pirates leading 6- 1, but the Giants came back to win, 7- 6, which is par for the course in Pittsburgh.
In baseball, Skenes ‘ average pitch speed of 99.7 mph is second-fastest behind relievers Mason Miller of Oakland ( 100.9 ) and Justin Martinez of Arizona ( 100.2 ), respectively. However, those pitchers are one to two innings and one-out. Skenes, as a starter, must sustain his velocity over 100 pitches, which makes his early performances even that much more impressive.
After Skenes ‘ second outing on May 17 when the rookie pitched six no-hit shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field while striking out 11, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said,” These things he’s doing are not easy.” ” We thought he’d get better over time, but to do that in a relatively short period of time is impressive”.
The Pirates have an$ 83.2 million payroll, 29th in MLB, and a young core built around veteran outfielder Andrew McCutchen, but have n’t made the playoffs since 2015 or won the World Series since 1979.
Their average home attendance of 18, 626 for the first 26 dates is 25th among MLB’s 30 teams, reflecting that lack of success even in a destination ballpark. The good news is the Pirates have drawn 58, 086 to Skenes ‘ two home starts, including 34, 924 for his debut and 23, 162 for an afternoon game Thursday. So, he’s already having a local impact.
” It’s most important he pitches lights out”, Dorfman said. ” And that the Pirates make the playoffs”.
At 25- 29, they are currently fourth in the National League Central race, six games out, two in arrears of the league’s final Wild Card berth.
Skenes whiffed the first seven batters he faced in his second start against the Cubs in Chicago. He had control of all his pitches. ” It’s fricking Wrigley Field. It was sweet”, he said that day after the 100- pitch outing.
In the end, Strasburg’s arm did n’t hold up. He had a right elbow injury in August 2010 and needed Tommy John ligament replacement surgery, missing almost the entire 2011 season. Strasburg last pitched in the majors in June 2022, and he formally retired last month at the age of 35 after unsuccessful attempts to recover from thoracic outlet surgery on his right shoulder in 2021.
The future of Skenes, who throws with the same high impact on every pitch, is still to be determined.
” One of the choices is get as much out of him while you can before ]an arm injury ] happens”, Dorfman said.